


Blue, The Color of Our Planet From Far, Far Away

by TwiExMachina



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Ruby & Sapphire & Emerald | Pokemon Ruby Sapphire Emerald Versions
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Background Tabitha/Matt, Banter, Eventual Romance, Eventual Sex, Kissing, M/M, Panic Attacks, Slow Build, fear of water
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-22
Updated: 2015-08-03
Packaged: 2018-04-05 16:19:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4186575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwiExMachina/pseuds/TwiExMachina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Graduate student Maximus decided (was pressured) to go to Dewford for a field study.  Then he falls off the boat.  Then he’s saved by Archie, a swimmer just swimming in the middle of the ocean when he fell and carries him back to shore and safety.  Maximus ends up on dry land, meets Archie again, and again, and again.</p><p>The oddest thing about Archie isn’t that he has a tail instead of legs but that he somehow made Maximus feel comfortable answering to “Maxie"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Day One

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from the song Blue Lips by Regina Spektor. I know absolutely nothing about graduate school, geology, or fieldwork so don't look for accuracy here whenever those things come up, sorry.

Dewford was a lovely town. Absolutely lovely. The people were quaint and simple, but used to the sudden influx of college and graduate students on certain times of the year that they weren’t too scared of them to talk them nor too shy to profit off of their existence. Outside of the tiny town, it was mostly untouched. There was a cave on the island with fossils and old cave paintings littered inside, just waiting to be studied. Absolutely wonderful. It was also on an island. And Maximus did not like islands. Sure, Hoenn was essentially one big island, but there was an inland, there was safety, there was the possibility of taking a deep breath and not smelling salt. Dewford was small and the town was right along the coast. 

Maximus hated it. Absolutely hated it. Dr. Stone said that he needed to get out into the field at some point now that he was in graduate school, but couldn’t he have gone to Lavaridge or Fallarbor? Somewhere with a large landlocked place to be explored? But no, Dr. Stone suggested Dewford. He weaved a pretty tale about Dewford, about its isolation, that people came for the cave paintings and for the exploration, but not for how the cave was made, not about the types of stones that could be found inside. It would be interesting and would produce interesting data and expand his horizons and Dr. Stone was charismatic and Maximus believed him.

The three-day long ferry from Rustboro to Dewford made him curse Dr. Stone’s name near a thousand times. Maximus was a man of land. He was at Rustboro for its geology program, its excellent graduate school, not for its tight friendship with Dewford. Sure, Rustboro could be considered a beach college for that small stretch of sand just outside of town. It was nearby, but that was in the distance for Maximus. As long as Maximus turned right on the main road instead of continuing straight out of town, he’d be at a cave and that was much better, much safer.

The ocean wasn’t safe. It never was. He was always afraid of it. Sure, he wasn’t the same child that clung to an intertube and cried loudly when his feet touched the water and screamed at the solid blue surface of the sea whenever it moved. Maximus understood now the basis of his fear of water and had categorized and itemized it in an attempt to understand and explain and hopefully alleviate that fear, but all his work did absolutely nothing to stop his storm tearing his stomach apart when he stepped onto the boat and saw the expanse of blue in front of him. He didn’t know how he could survive three days.

Maximus wasn’t sick in the middle of the ocean, but he didn’t feel right, like all of his world was put out of alignment and that anxiety couldn’t go away. The water was too big, too wide and he’d kiss the beach whenever they landed in Dewford if it wasn’t for the fact that he’d spin in a circle and all he’d see was water water water, a field of blue meeting a field of blue. The island wasn’t safe, just a false hope. At least it didn’t move.

He’d like to spend three days in his cabin, pressed in a ball between the ceiling, the wall, and the narrow bunk, but he couldn’t spend his time there, not forever. It was boring, and he could feel his brain atrophying when the only stimulus was counting rivets in the wall. In an act of reckless stupidity and a hope to see land, Maximus stood outside, on the railing, staring out into the blue abyss. 

At first, he had his arms wrapped around hand rails, binding him to the boat, but he relaxed after reciting the periodic table a couple of times, just leaning against it and staring out into the distance. He looked at the part where the endless sea met the sky, searching for something that wasn’t blue blue blue. When he felt an anxious bug scratch in his stomach, he tilted his head up and squinted up at the sun and that blue expanse. It wasn’t as swallowing. It calmed him down. He could see wingul above him in all directions. There was something up there and he could see him. He was safe as long as he didn’t look down. 

An announcement screeched across the boat, saying that they were two hours out from Dewford, and that the water might be rough so please brace yourself. Maximus wondered if he should go inside the boat. He looked forward at the sea, at the white foam scattered across the surface.

Maximus wasn’t really sure what happened after that. If he had to give an explanation, the ship just bounced and he did too, but he was lighter and flew higher, over the edge, into the water, and into blackness and death. He could probably fluff it out for later retellings, hide everything under jargon until it didn’t sound as pathetic as it felt, could research what happened at that precise moment, but what happened was simple: He fell off the boat. When he hit the water, the impact shook him like he fell onto the sidewalk out of a tree. Maximus lost consciousness and sank. 

Then he woke up.

Maximus thought he was dead, because it didn’t make sense otherwise. He was on someone’s back, his wrists held together in front of the two of them, beneath the other’s throat. Maximus stared at the blurry waves of black hair in front of him, and saw the wide expanse of blue around them, in all directions. Maximus started kicking, trying to pull his arm out of the hand that held him still. He was breathing quickly, somehow forming words in the rush of breath. “Letmegoletmegoletmego,” Maximus pleaded, kicking and pulling, his thoughts just a jumbled mess screaming ‘water’ and ‘no’. 

The swimmer stopped and held Maximus’ wrists. He spoke over Maximus’ panicking, “Whoa, whoa, relax, I’m helping you!”

“Landlandlandland!”

“Land ain’t for miles.”

“I don’t care! Just—just.” Maximus couldn’t form words, panting against the swimmer’s neck. 

His voice got quieter and he spoke slowly. “Alright boney, just stop with that and I’ll get you to a sandbar. Breathe. With your mouth. Big breaths. I ain’t gonna let you slip, but you’ll need to not do that flailing. Make it easy for me, yeah? I’ll keep you safe”

Maximus took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut, muttering the periodic table in alphabetical order under his breath. If he didn’t see the water in all directions, he might as well be in a pool. He tightened his grip on the man and pretended he smelled chlorine instead of salt.

“Imma move now, that alright?”

Maximus continued muttering. Cadmium, caesium, calcium…

The man swam forward, slowly. He moved his head, looking over his shoulder and Maximus pressed his nose into the man’s neck. “You good, boney? Cause if you hold on tight, I can use both arms to swim ‘n we can get there faster.”

Maximus tightened his grip on the man’s neck. Dubnium, dysprosium, einsteinium. The other man lowered his arm and pushed it through the water, leveling himself flat. Water slipped in the space between the two of them and Maxie’s breath caught and he had to start saying fermium three times before he could finish it. 

“It’s okay, little guy, it’s okay. I gottcha. If you slip, I’ll catch ya. I won’t let you fall.”

Gadolinium, gallium, this strange swimmer’s words helped calm him more down than his traditional rhythm of science. It was odd. People usually didn’t comfort him when he had panic attacks. Then again, he didn’t have them in public. He tucked away, in his room, in the bathroom and calmed himself down so he could walk out with his usual proud and confident stance and pretend that he didn’t feel exhausted and stressed. There was nowhere to hide here, pressed against a swimmer’s back with the open air around them and water between them. He kept muttering, and occasionally the swimmer would say something encouraging, how great he was doing, how close they were to a small bit of land.

When he was about to start his second rotation on the periodic table, Maximus felt sand under his butt. “We’re at a sandbar, little guy. You can let go now.”

Maximus fell back onto the sand and moved back until the waist deep water faded into dry sand. He fell back on the sandbar and breathed, his eyes closed. He took in the solid land, hot against his clothes and skin. He could feel the water drying in the heat, leaving his clothes stiff with salt. He opened his eyes a bit, letting a sliver of sun in, then more. There were more clouds in the sky than there were while he was on the boat, fluffy puffs and scrapes of white against the blue. He focused on that and sat up. The ocean was still wide around him, but there were some rocks poking out of the water, blurry jagged shapes. He didn’t have his glasses on. He looked around, squinted, saw the man that rescued him still in the water, treading water in the ocean. He couldn’t see much of him, just dark brown skin, no shirt, and black hair. “Do you have my glasses?”

The swimmer raised his arm. Maximus could see a blur of black clutched in his fist. “Yep.” He pulled his arm back and threw it to Maximus. Maximus scuttled forward like a krabby and caught them in both hands, pulling it to his chest and running his fingers over the frame and lenses. The swimmer snickered. “Nice hustle, boney.”

“Did you swallow too much sea water?” Maximus snapped, stomping towards the edge of the sandbar, not letting the flow of the tide touch his sneakers. “Why did you throw my glasses? What if they broke? Did you even consider that?”

“I don’t think—”

“Exactly, you don’t think. You did not consider any possible outcomes.”

“—that glasses break when they hit the sand,” he finished with a sigh. “Look, they survived falling off your face when you dove headfirst in the water, so they’ll survive this.”

“I did not dive headfirst,” He wanted to rebut, not give a chance for a sarcastic reply. He didn’t know how he ended up in the water outside of “bouncing boat”. 

The swimmer chuckled. “I saw you, boney. Headfirst.”

Maximus sighed. “I’m not arguing this with a delusional simpleton,” he muttered, cleaning water droplets off his glasses and just smearing more water on it. It’d have to do. He’d be able to at least smooth out the fuzzy edges of the world. He put on his glasses and looked at the swimmer, squinting through the streaks. He was right about the brown skin, brown like the bark of a damp old tree. His hair was black and stuck at odd angles as it dried in the sun, his beard doing the same. He had a dark ‘X’ on his nose, cutting under his eyes and above his eyebrow. Maybe a scar, maybe just a mark. He was large, thick with muscles, covered with hair. Maximus could see a curve of white teeth as he smiled at him. Maximus glared, feeling like he was back in high school. “What?” he snapped and bristled like a liepard ready to claw.

The swimmer’s voice was soft though, almost fond. “You look good with those.”

What. “What?”

“You look good with those glasses. They fit you well.”

Maximus scoffed and pushed his glasses up to rest more comfortably on his nose. “Lie better next time.” The lenses were large, the frames black and obtrusive. There was large plastic rectangle that only served to shield his jaw. Safety goggles were simpler to wear.

The swimmer just smiled and shook his head. “Not lying. You look really good with glasses.”

“Are you flirting with me?”

He laughed. It was loud and shaking, coming from deep in his belly, completely honest. “Fuck yeah I’m flirting with the attractive man that fell off the boat now that he’s wearing glasses.”

Maximus looked around, at the water, at the sand, at anything other than the man in front of him. What world did he fall into? He expected to see wild salamence flying casually over his head. He glanced back at the swimmer and stared more closely at him. The swimmer wasn’t the type of person who would look at Maximus, not even a glance. People who looked like him had pretty girls, not gangly nerds with huge glasses. The only reason they would be interested is if they wanted to humiliate him later. But that didn’t seem to match what Maximus knew of him, of someone who calmed him down so easily from a panic attack. Brainless jocks didn’t do that. 

He was thinking too much. He needed to speak. “I…never mind.” He also needed to speak actual sentences. “Why don’t we change the subject? To something more productive, if you please.”

“I think flirting with you is incredibly productive.”

Ignoring that. Pushing that far away. “My name is Maximus Matsubusa. I am a geology graduate student at Rusboro here for a month to do fieldwork. Who are you and what do you do for a living?”

“Name’s Archie. I swim, I guess. I was swimming next to the boat when you fell.”

Maximus sat down. He liked being taller than people, looking down at them, but the distance between his standing height and Archie’s wading crouch was too much. It hurt his neck. “Why were you swimming next to the boat?”

He shrugged and squinted off to the left. “Just was going by.”

“I see,” Maximus said, tucking away Archie’s deflection for later. Why would there be a later?

“Glad I was,” Archie grunted, turning back to Maximus. “Normally, when people fall off a boat, there’s screaming and then someone can save them right away. No one screamed for you.”

Maximus swallowed, felt sand scratch down his throat even though there was nothing in his mouth. “I see.”

“But you’re here now. And you’re alright. And I’ll get you to actual land. Got that, Max?”

“My name’s not Max. It is Maximus.”

“I like names that are easy to grasp.”

“Wonderful. My name is still Maximus.”

Archie brushed away his name, scattering water in an arc. “Whatever. So where were you heading, Maxie?”

“Dewford.”

“The island town?”

“Are there multiple Dewfords around here?”

“Maybe. The island’s a bit far, but I’ll be able to get you there.” He sighed and rubbed his head. “Man, it’d be great if you could swim a bit, give me a break.”

“I can’t swim at all.”

He shook his head and smirked at him. “Good thing I grabbed ya, right?”

“I’m grateful for the saving.” He paused, decided to continue talking, let a little bit of honest emotion out. “I’m not sure if I’m opposed to everything else.”

Archie chuckled and smiled. “I’ll take that.” He turned around. “Let’s get going.”

Maximus stood up and didn’t move. He took a step forward. His toes were in the water.

Archie looked over his shoulder. Maximus expected irritation and got only softness, in his voice, on his face. “I ain’t gonna let you fall. I’m going to keep swimming until you’re safe on land and you will be safe on land, trust me. If you want to mumble things to yourself, that’s fine. If you want to talk to me, that’s fine too. That might help distract you. Though it’ll be a while, so whatever makes you comfortable, do it and I’ll keep swimming. Alright?”

“I’m fine. I don’t need your comfort.”

Archie shrugged and looked out to the sea.

Maximus stepped forward and waded out to Archie’s back, wrapping his legs around his waist and his arms around his shoulders. “I’m ready.”

Archie leaned forward so he was flat. Maximus sat up a bit so the surface was further away from him. Archie swam moved parallel to the island before he turned back into the open sea and swam forward. Maximus hated this already. He tightened his grip. “You want me to slow down?” Archie asked.

Yes, but he didn’t want to be out in sea for long. “You’re fine. I might take you up on the conversation though.”

“Sure, boney. Go ahead.”

“What did I do to warrant that nickname?”

“Cause ya got boney ass.”

“You haven’t had a sufficient time to notice that.”

“How do you know that while you were drowning I wasn’t staring at your butt?”

“Because you didn’t let me drown at all.”

“Yep, ya caught me. I rescued you quick, barely let you sink.”

Because no one noticed, Maximus filled in. Because when you fell, no one screamed. Because if I let you stay underwater for more than a second, you would’ve drowned and there wasn’t any land around to bring you back to life. Because no one noticed. Because no one cared.

“You can thank me at any time.”

“Thank you for caring about me,” Maximus said, unable to keep the poisonous thoughts from coating his tongue.

“Ain’t a matter of caring. It’s a matter of decency. Anyone would’ve done that. I just happened to be looking.”

That felt too personal. He needed to deflect. “I’m amazed you aren’t tired. You’ve been swimming for a while.”

“I got a bit of a break back there. And this is my life.”

“Swimming all day in the ocean?”

“Course.”

Maximus snorted. “Is every islander like that?”

Archie laughed. “As far as Dewford’s concerned, I’m one of a kind. What about you?”

“What about me?”

Archie turned his head back, glancing at him. His lips split into a smirk and his blue eyes glinted at him. Maximus wasn’t sure if he felt cold or warm under that gaze. “You one of a kind?”

He looked away. “Maybe you should use your breath for swimming.”

“Got plenty of breath, Maxie.”

Maximus didn’t bother responding.

“What’s the matter? No witty retort for my flirts? Come on, that’s half the fun.”

“How much longer until we arrive?”

“Island’s close. We’ll be there soon.”

“Good. I’m turning into a prune.”

“As long as you’re not a panicked prune.”

He wasn’t. He felt relaxed. Sure, there was a roggenrola sinking in his stomach and flipping around there, but he wasn’t being dragged down with it. He could talk. He could glance at the ocean. Not for long, but he was safe. It was an odd feeling.

“Island’s in view now. There’s a dock a bit further down that has steps that lead up to it. Mostly people with surfing pokémon use it so they don’t have to wade through water to get back onto land. So it’s perfect for you even though I ain’t a pokémon.”

“Great. Let’s hurry up. Faster.”

Archie laughed. “You’re commanding me now? Well, hold on, boney.” He swam faster, the water parting as his arms cleaved through the water and pushed it aside. Maximus clung to him and pushed his face into his shoulder until he stopped moving. Arche’s hands gripped the step just below water level and he was silent, waiting. Maxie dismounted—that was a word that was probably not the best to use when he was getting off a shirtless man’s back but what word would be better?—and climbed the steps onto the dry dock. His legs shook, trying to remember how to move, his pants heavy with water. Archie leaned against the stairs, head on top of his crossed arms, and looked up at him. “And there you go.”

“Thank you,” Maximus said, stepping to the side so Archie could get up. He didn’t move. “Aren’t you going to get out?”

Archie laughed. Maximus thought his teeth looked sharp, jagged lines. His glasses were still smugged. “Nah, that’ll kill me.”

Maxie scoffed. “How melodramatic. Could you at least do me the honor of escorting me around town?”

Archie laughed again and shook his head like he was remembering a funny joke. “Can’t do that. Just get your things.” He dove to the side and disappeared underwater. Maximus stared at the smooth surface, then turned and walked into town, where the entire boat was panicking when one ticket didn’t come off the boat, when one set of suitcases remained uncollected. Maximus showed someone his waterlogged ticket and was immediately swarmed by the staff and very persistent tourists. Maximus answered all the questions he could and opened up his suitcase to clean his glasses. They were smudged horribly and everything seemed to merge together when he looked through them in that state. When Archie swam away, his swimsuit looked like it was fused together, like he didn’t even have legs.


	2. Day 8

It had been a week since Maximus arrived on Dewford and walked along the beach with completely soaked clothes clinging to him and a crowd of people panicking. True to what Archie had alluded too and Maximus had dreaded, no one had realized he had fell in at all. They were literally staring at his suitcase and scouring the boat when they realized, oh, he was gone. People nagged him constantly the first day working on the island, wondering what happened, how he got back when they were so far away from land. Maximus snapped at some point and said that if they found Archie, they could ask him how exactly everything worked as long, but until then they should just leave him alone.

They did. He seemed to only be popular when he was an enigma. When enough people realized that he wasn’t interesting, that he was boring and snippy and ultimately not what people wanted. He didn’t fit their imagery or fantasies. That was fine. He’d stick to his rocks and staying far away from the ocean as possible.

He still found himself staring off into the distant ocean from time to time, like a man stuck in deep philosophical thought. It’s a pretty picture and image, but his thoughts were nothing worth that grand of an image. He found himself thinking about the swimmer, Archie. Maximus didn’t see Archie at all though, not around town, not swimming in the sea, nowhere. Which was perfectly fine. He was perfectly fine. But he found himself thinking about Archie when his mind was blank, all questions. Where was he? Why did he think that he was attractive? Was he lying? Was someone who smiled that wide capable of lying (Yes, but Archie made him think no)?

He needed to preoccupy himself. He actually made a friend with someone who was the exact opposite of everyone else on the island. He ignored Maximus when he arrived and latched onto him when he was working. Tabitha that was round and sturdy like a makuhita, who smirked more often than he smiled and sneered even more than that. Tabitha was excitable and repeated himself a lot, but he was smart, but Maximus was smarter and they both knew it. They already had a long conversation about geology and compared research notes. Maximus pointed out something that he mixed and he looked up at him with awe and reverence. 

Maximus liked working with him. Tabitha was full of compliments and seemed very easily impressed with someone who could actually contribute something to the conversation. Maximus preened like a swanna when Tabitha praised him. He got used to ‘great’ being attached to his name. Tabitha had his own social life and let Maximus into it. He befriended a graduate student from their own program, a quiet, odd girl named Courtney. Tabitha managed to get a crush the size of a steelix on a giant of man named Matt, a local with an allergy to a shirt. Maximus talked to him a couple of times and left with a headache every single time. But as long as Tabitha was happy, what could he say? Not that he’d understand why he’d ever be attracted to a tall dark skinned man who laughed loud and touched Tabitha’s back with gentleness and knew how to handle him.

Archie wasn’t even that tall.

Wait…Maximus shook his head and watched as Matt put his hand on Tabitha’s head and rubbed. His hand enveloped Tabitha’s head and Tabitha rocked with the motions and he screeched at him but didn’t actually push him away. How long had the two of them known each other? Less than a week? How did they learn how to read each other so easily? He thought of Archie again, his constant stream of words, his constant assurances and looked away from them. Maximus had to get rid of these thoughts. They weren’t helping him. Honestly, what kind of person was he if it took one person saving his life to turn him into a sentimental sap?

“Hey, tomorrow!” Matt yelled. Next to him, Courtney winced at his tone. “We should go out to sea! I’ve got a sweet speedboat, and sunset looks amazing when you’re out in the middle of the ocean.”

“Sure,” Tabitha said and turned to Courtney and Maximus.

Courtney thought for a long stretch of time and turned to Maximus.

Maximus adjusted his glasses. “Unfortunately I’ll have to refuse.”

Matt shrugged. “Whatever, bro. Just tell me if you change your mind.”

Maximus forced a smile. When he looked over at Tabitha, he was staring at Maximus, mouth slightly agape. He snapped his jaw closed and hardened his stare. The conversation continued but the heaviness in Tabitha’s glare didn’t go away. When they walked away, Tabitha walked slightly ahead of him. “Why’d you say no?”

“Because I do not want to go,” Maximus said. “Needless to say, my opinions on boats have been quite low recently.”

Courtney tilted her head to the side and her mouth moved in quiet words. Maximus identified ‘analyzing’. He turned back to Tabitha as he started talking. “I understand where you got that from, but please. It’s Matt.”

“I have no particular attachment to him.”

Tabitha stepped in front of him and stopped. Maximus halted as well and locked his arms around his back. “Please, Maximus. I like him, but he’s so indimiating. I need both of you there.”

Maximus had a soft heart. He’d need to fix that later. “Alright,” he said and walked past Tabitha. 

He would’ve preferred his heart to harden before he put on his lifejacket and gripped the back of the speedboat while Matt waited for everyone to get seated, but alas, he was in his red swimtrunks and a white shirt and a constricting life vest, glowering at every smile turned his way. He was here for moral support, not for any interest of his. Which is why he was in the back while Tabitha and Courtney sat up front, next to Matt. Matt looked back at him and gave a wide grin that was supposed to be reassuring if Maximus wasn’t dwelling in a state of constant grimace. “You good?”

“Perfect,” Maximus replied, feeling sick as Matt turned around and the boat sped off into the sunset. It wasn’t gradual, it was just there and gone. Maximus gripped the boat railing and Matt whooped as he turned sharply, the boat jumping along the surf. Tabitha was laughing and Courtney was quietly smiling. Maximus was going through the periodic table in his head and focused on the blue above him instead of below him. He wasn’t a fan of this. But as long as he held on, he’d be fine. 

Matt stopped the boat at one point to point out the school of carvanha, at the fins poking above water and the red just visible beneath. Tabitha and Courtney acted interested, but Maximus shifted in his seat, uncomfortable at the shapes of red moving around the boat. They tried to nip at Courtney’s fingers as she knelt down to touch it and Maximus jerked his embow against the boat and rubbed at it until the feeling returned, glaring at his feet. He hated the ocean. The vastness of the ocean was terrifying enough, but he had to be reminded that there were [i]things[/i] in there, lurking beneath the surface. The water wasn’t clear enough to show just how many things there were, how many large creatures fed just under their view. If he glanced, he’d see carvanha dive into darkness and then back up. He’d never understand people who swam. He wondered if Archie got his toes nibbled off swimming around with such beasts.

Matt whooped and started the boat before Maximus could realize or consider that he should be hanging on. For the second time in a week, Maximus fell off a boat and into the ocean. He spat out a stream of water and rubbed his face. He looked up to yell and saw the speedboat a white spot already so far away.

Well. Maximus was stranded out in the middle of the ocean. Again. Hopefully, they’d notice that he wasn’t there and they’d come for him. They cared about him. He had a life vest on. He could float. He’d be fine until they found him again. He just had to look up and breathe and not focus on the world that was shifting around him and he’d be safe. He heard water shifting to his right and looked, seeing the sharp dark blue spike of a sharpedo’s fin skim the surface of water before sinking into darkness. 

Fuck.

Maximus tried to swim away, and succeeded in flailing his arms and paddling in a small circle. His breathing was coming out quickly and he saw his world shrink to a blue pinprick. He heard the sharpedo surface and screamed, fearing a bite. He felt a hand touch his cheek instead, wet and warm. “Maxie, Maxie, it’s okay.” Maximus opened his eyes and realized that Archie was there, cupping his cheeks. Maximus tried to say his name and only whined. Archie stroked his skin with his thumb. “Shh, it’s okay. You’re okay. You’re safe. I’m here. You’re safe.”

Maximus shook his head. “Sharpedo.”

“There ain’t any sharpedo here. You’re fine.”

Maximus shook his head and pushed Archie’s hand away from his cheek. “I saw one.”

Archie held his pushing hand and squeezed it. “You saw me. There’s nothing around here.”

Maximus shook his head. “I saw a fin. I know what sharpedo look like and you do not look like a fin.”

“I’m going to let go of you now. I’m going to prove to you that you saw me. But I’m gonna have to let you go.” His hand slipped away and Maximus stared as Archie swam away and lifted a slick dark blue tail into the air and then slapped it down, navy and white disappearing into the blue of the ocean.

Maximus swallowed and stared as Archie went back to him, holding his shoulders. “That was you?”

“It was me.”

“You’re a mermaid?”

Archie smiled and rubbed his shoulder. It felt so warm. “Yeah. I’m surprised you didn’t know.”

Maximus flushed. Hindsight was twenty-twenty and it honestly explained a lot. “I thought you were just an excellent swimmer.”

Archie swam to his side and wrapped his arm around Maximus’ shoulders. Maximus looked down, but couldn’t see any sign of a tail. Archie looked human. Maximus watched Archie’s hand lift out of the water, so normal, so human. Though it wasn’t pruny like his was. Archie touched his cheek and brushed wet hair away. “You seem fine. You’re actually floating this time.”

“Life vest,” Maximus replied. “I can’t sink.”

“You know how to swim yet?”

“I’ve been here a week.”

“You can learn how to paddle in a week.” 

“Allow me to rephrase: I’ve been in caves for a week.”

“Is that what you’re here for?” Archie wrinkled his nose. “Who’d want to look at rocks all day?”

“A lot of people.”

“At least you’re getting in the ocean for some fun.”

“This isn’t for fun.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. I was pressured into it. I never would’ve on my own accord. Because, as you see, I end up in the ocean.”

“You seem fine this time though.”

“I think I spent all of my panic on the sharpedo scare.”

Archie’s thumb ran over his cheekbone. “Sorry bout that.”

Maximus stared at him. “You need to stop.”

“Stop what?”

“You’re being very illogical.”

“I ain’t. Maybe you’re too logical.”

Actually, he found himself being very illogical lately, not that he would tell Archie. “I just don’t understand why you’re hanging around me.”

“Well you seem to find yourself in your trouble pretty often. Someone’s gotta look out for you.”

“I feel like you’re flirting with me.”

Archie laughed. They were closer, face to face, his glasses not dripping with water as much. Maximus could see the details more clearly, know exactly how wide he smiled to show off his jagged white teeth, how his shoulders shook with the laughter. Archie’s eyes were blue, a deep, dark, all encompassing blue like lapis lazuli. “You’re just hyper sensitive. I can flirt with you if you like.”

“I don’t know if that’s supposed to make me trust you more.”

“Well ideally, yes. Don’tcha like flirting?”

“I tend to be leery when it is unfounded.”

Archie tilted his head. “What, don’t you think you’re pretty?”

Maximus opened his mouth to respond and heard someone shouting. He forgot what he was going to say when he saw the speedboat putter over to him. Matt leaned out of the boat. “Bro, I’m sorry. I didn’t notice you fell out.”

“It’s alright,” Maximus snapped. Archie’s arm slid off his shoulders and pressed against his back. He rubbed his arm, cupping Maximus’ elbow. Maximus shivered in the warm ocean and remembered to speak. “I had a life vest. I floated.”

Archie raised his hand and jabbed his thumb at his temple. “And I was nearby enough that if he didn’t, I’d grab him. Again.”

“Bro, you’re the one who saved him the first time?” Over Matt’s shoulder, Tabitha and Courtney watched them, analyzing the interaction and calculating them. Maximus could see the hypothsis they were forming. No wonder people found Maximus annoying when he did the same.

Archie squeezed Maximus’ elbow again. “Yeah, I was swimming when I found him. Kinda like now, eh Maxie?”

Maximus snorted and looked away.

“Analyzing…” Courtney muttered, staring at Archie. Archie stiffened and then smiled under Courtney’s gaze. “You…are far out at sea…where is your vessel?”

Archie let his smile fall into a strict line. It didn’t fit, looked incredibly silly, a mockery of seriousness. “I am my own vessel.”

Maximus opened his mouth to scold Archie—wasn’t there a rule for these sort of things, a thought of the masquerade to preserve secrecy?—but Archie let go of Maximus’ arm and floated on his back, letting the white underside of his tail gleam in the light. Maximus tried not to stare and engrain detail into his head of what a mermaid’s tail actually looked like (he could tell even from a distance that it was rough in texture but the sharp fin at the end of his tail was slick and hard but the small white fins on his front looked soft and delicate). It seemed inappropriate. Tabitha put his hand on Matt’s shoulder and leaned over to take a closer look and Courtney gripped the railing, her eyes moving rapidly before Archie’s tail before Archie slipped it back into the water, moving back to Maximus’ side with his hands against his back. “ _Bro,_ ” Matt breathed.

“Alright, enough of this,” Archie said, holding onto Maximus’ wrists and pulling him towards the boat. Maximus’ legs kicked feebly to move forward. It felt like he was pushing against a camerupt as he was walking. A noble quest, but ultimately ineffective. His foot brushed against Archie’s tail once and Maximus jerked. Archie shushed him and rubbed his thumbs against his wrists. “Gotta get Maxie into the boat. Little landlubber doesn’t belong in the ocean.” Archie swam to the side and stretched Maximus’ arms out to grip the handrails. Tabitha dashed over to his side to help him up the ladder, digging his nails into Maximus’ shoulders with the kindness and gentle touch of someone who had no clue what to do and only wanted to pull him to safety. Archie put his hand against Maximus’ calf as it came out of the water. “Maxie’s gotta eat some rocks.”

Maximus white-knuckle gripped the railing and twisted around to kick at Archie’s head. Archie swam back and laughed at him before diving underwater, cutting himself off into a fury of popping bubbles. Maximus stared at the remnants of his laughter as they burst and stopped rising. Maximus watched the horizon as the sunset to see if Archie’s dark mat of hair would surface again.


	3. Day 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit short, but it's a lot of dialogue, banter, deflecting away from possibly feeling something, you know, the usual.

The day after the second misadventure with the boat, Maximus started to develop habits and routines, all tremendously out of character for him. 

Maximus got used to hearing the bastardized nickname Archie gave him. He didn’t like it, but it was repeated so often he just had to answer to it. Matt latched onto it immediately, a natural fan of short words. Courtney liked it because it could easily be said in the same tone; Maximus was three syllables with different intensities while Maxie had no need for emphasis. Tabitha repeated it because everyone else used it. Matt’s friend Shelly started hanging around too and knew nothing of Maximus’ real name. “Hey, you must be Maxie,” she greeted while they were around a campfire talking while Maximus focused on his datapad.

“Yes,” Maximus replied, paused for a couple of seconds, then spoke again, “Or Maximus.”

“Alright, Maxie,” Shelly grinned and he sighed in response. Maximus didn’t like it, but he responded to it with a bored tone and hoped that those who knew better would stop using it. They didn’t. At some point he just accepted it as a natural offshoot of his name. He still introduced himself as Maximus though. That would not change.

Maximus also got in the habit of going over his notes while the sunset sank over the ocean. He sat on the dock that he was dropped off on and flipped through his notebook and datapad, comparing his written notes throughout the day and transferring them onto his datapad to organize and analyze. He never got close enough to the water to dip his feet into. That was too much. He just bent over his notes, sitting on the top step. He looked up occasionally, just at the vast colors of the sunset, not at the blue water and who could surface from it.

Maybe he did, just a bit. Maybe just at the start. But he truly was there to take notes.

Maximus had made the top step his home for a week before he looked up and he saw Archie in the sea, close enough that he could tell that the dark mop of hair was in fact his. Maximus stared and wasn’t sure what he should do. He had considered it a possibility every day he was there, but he hadn’t expected it. Even if he had a plan set aside for this situation, he couldn’t think of it. He couldn’t even come up with an improvisation, of anything other than the simple act of breathing. The world just froze around him and thoughts meant nothing.

Time continued without Maximus’ involvement. Archie’s head disappeared under the water and the surface was still again. Maximus sighed and returned to his notes. Sentimentality was better suited for someone younger, at least mentally so. He drew an arrow connecting two points nearly half a page apart and heard the water break and settle and a voice as deep as turbulent waves spoke to him. “What’re you doing here, Maxie?”

Maximus put his notes behind him and looked down at Archie. His forearms rested on the step above the water level, his head tucked in the crook as he stared up at Maximus. Maximus swallowed. “I’m just looking at the view.” He pointed at the sunset. He felt surprisingly casual. The potential meeting—not that he had thought it through, of course—was always fantastical and terrifying.

Archie looked at the view and then looked back up at Maximus. “Thought you were afraid of water.”

“Fears are naturally irrational and work as such and it works on a sense of scale. I am more afraid of the ocean than a river or a lake or a pool. But I can see Granite Cave stretching out in my peripherals—” Maxie gestured to the long stretch of enclosed rock on his left and Archie turned to look too “—and I feel that I’m on land, so it’s alright.”

“Huh.” Archie looked back at Maximus, raising an eyebrow. “And here I thought it was because of me.”

Maximus scoffed. “You’re vain.”

“Well I’m here because of you.”

Maximus wished he had his notes in his hands so he could push his red face into. He couldn’t be this easily embarrassed. He opened his mouth and then closed it and stared dumbly at him.

Archie continued talking. “I came here about every day after I dropped you off. Wanted to see if you were alright.”

“I was studying on land.”

“Figured. I was just hopeful.” Archie shrugged. “But you seem safe. You only seem to get in trouble in the water.”

Maximus hummed a bit and nodded. “Dewford seems to bring bad luck for me.”

“So what are you doing here? I’ve been visiting this place every day, so why stop by now?”

“No you haven’t,” Maximus replied quickly and a grin split Archie’s face, his tail slapping in the water. Maximus glared at him, but couldn’t help the small smirk poking up his lips. “You are a devious creature.”

“And here I thought I was romantic, waitin’ for you.”

Maximus scoffed and pulled out his notes from behind him again and put them on his lap. “I don’t know why I even entertained the concept,” he muttered.

Archie reached out and touched his ankle. “Yo, Maxie.”

Maximus filled out his notes, not looking up. “I’m still listening.”

“So what are you doing out here? Actually?”

Maximus lowered his notes and sighed. Might as well ask what had been bugging him for a week. “Isn’t there a process? Aren’t you supposed to be in hiding? Isolating yourself from humans in order to keep up a masquerade of some kind?”

Archie shrugged. “I mean, kinda. It’s recommended, sure. But I’ve never liked it. People are interesting. It’d be a shame t’not talk with others. You’re a scientist right? You know what I mean. Everything about humans is interesting and worth understanding.”

“I’m a geologist. I isolate myself with rocks. You’re thinking of psychologists.”

He shrugged. “Same difference. I like to learn, ‘specially about the surface. There’s a whole world up here that I can’t exactly get to.”

“Some say that mermaids can grow legs on land.”

“Not true.”

“Those that say that usually are writers dabbling in wish fulfillment.” Maximus paused. “Do you entertain the concept?”

Archie thought and shrugged. “I mean, a bit. It’s occurred to me how nice it would be to walk. That’s just how it is with everyone. Everyone wants a piece of life they can’t have. But it ain’t gonna happen.” Archie glanced at Maximus. “So I’ll just bide myself with what I can get.”

“You’re flirting again.”

Archie chuckled and smiled. “Not that time. I can, if you want.”

“No, that’s alright.”

“You seem a bit sensitive, eh? Reading into whether or not I’m flirting.”

“I’m not reading into it. I’m just taking a necessary precaution.”

“Aw, you don’t have to phrase it like that.”

“So you don’t care that people know that you exist?” Maximus deflected.

“Not at all.”

“So how many people know?”

He thought a bit and counted on his fingers. “Four, I guess.”

Maximus stared at him. “You mean to tell me that myself and those on the boat that picked me up that day are the only ones who know of your existence?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Not just as a mermaid, but as a person?”

Archie thought a second. “Yep.”

“And after all that talk about wanting to connect with people,” Maximus scoffed, shaking his head.

“Well, I never had a reason to go out and actually talk to people!”

“And me falling off the boat was an amazing opportunity?”

“Yeah!”

Maximus stared, crossing his arms over his chest.

Archie stared at Maximus, let out an awkward chuckle under Maximus’ glower, and looked off to the side, tapping a rhythm on the wood under his arms. “That probably sounded worse than it should be.”

“It did.”

Archie sighed and looked back at him. “I mean, I don’t want to be stuck, but I haven’t had time to go out into the surface world and socialize. So I just observe people, figure out how things work. Hang out under boats and listen to conversations. I’ve been doin’ that since I was a kid. So I know a lot of your terminologies. I don’t know what a lot of them mean, but I’ve gathered a lot of context clues so I understand a bit. I know a lot of things about the humans. And I knew what happened when people fell of boats, and that they’d be alright. Or at least, they’d be rescued.”

“And then I fell.”

“Yeah, and I realized that I had to do something. So I did.”

“So why come back and hang around a dock?”

Archie shrugged and smirked. “So you really didn’t realize I was a mermaid?” Now Archie was the one deflecting.

Maximus pushed up his glasses and let him drift off topic. “I was too busy having a panic attack to notice that your movement was abnormal for a human.”

“Uh-huh.” His grin didn’t falter.

“So how does it feel, throwing away the masquerade that you’ve clung to your entire life?”

Archie stared at him for a second and laughed. His laugh sounded so genuine. He bent his spine when he did, his shoulders trembling. It was loud, and Maximus could feel the vibrations in his bones. 

He was not entirely comfortable with that, with being so personally affected by something that wasn’t even tangible. “What?”

“Nothing, Max, nothing.”

“Why are you laughing at me?”

“Ain’t laughing,” Archie said, chuckling. He spoke again, the amusement in his voice replaced with something quieter, somber. “And, I dunno. It doesn’t feel that different. I’m just talking to someone, but they can’t swim.” He shrugged. “Maybe it’ll sink in later. Really admire your ability to leap from one conversation to another in order to move off of a topic you don’t like, by the way,” Archie said, completely ignoring his own skillful deflections.

Maximus smiled at him without humor. “You may also admire my ability to leave the conversation by simply walking away where you can’t follow.”

“That’s dirty,” Archie groaned as Maximus stood up with his notes under his arms. He tried to splash Maximus, but it splattered on the wood next to Maximus’ toes, making him tut and shake his head sadly. Archie was pouting, actually pouting like a baby pokémon. “You can’t just walk away.”

“Oh? Then what word to you use for this action?” Maximus asked, taking a couple of steps back. Archie splashed the water with more vigor and Maximus smirked and turned around and started walking. “Come back earlier next time.”

When he looked over his shoulder again, Archie was gone.


	4. Day 15

Maximus supposed they’d be routine now. He liked sitting out by the dock while the sun set. It provided a nice atmosphere, and it was quiet, away from the commotion of the beach town. It was like a nice background on a computer screen. It helped make the mood of a quiet working environment. Now, he’d be able to talk to Archie too. That wouldn’t help him work, but it’d be nice.

When Maximus sat down on the dock, Archie majestically scrambled up the stairs to grab Maximus’ ankles. Maximus let out a screech that was perfectly rational for the situation as he stumbled back onto the dock, away from the sea. Archie laid down on the steps of the dock, only the end of his tail slapping in the water, and laughed, covering his eyes with his hand. It was loud, echoing throughout the ocean, and Maximus found himself desperately fighting the urge to smile just from Archie laugh alone as he declared the moment ruined and walked off, leaving Archie to just go “Wait Maxie, Maxie come back Maxie, I’m sorry Maxie, I won’t grab you this time Maxie” and laugh in the distance.

Maximus came back the next day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started writing a paragraph about Maxie's friendships and how Archie was different to tie everything in and making the ending funnier but it just got too sappy and I just scrapped it.
> 
> Also, we're getting a bonus update tomorrow, because a short-short is not an antiquate chapter, but I liked this scene too much and I needed to preserve this. I would've gotten it up today but I didn't get enough editing done when I got back from work.


	5. Day 16

Maximus made sure to stand a couple of feet away from the dock when he came back the next day. Archie didn’t like it that much. He swam to the edge of the dock and reached up to wrap his fingers around it the wood. It was all he could reach. “Come on, Maxie. I said I was sorry. Multiple times.”

“I could stand to hear it a couple more times.”

“Maxie, look at me Maxie.”

Maximus leaned to glance off the edge, at Archie half out of the water, straining his arms up to reach the dock and scratch at it with his fingernails. Maximus raised an eyebrow. “You look quite pathetic.”

“This is painful Maxie. Sit on the steps.”

“I don’t trust you.”

“Maxie,” he whined and Maximus sighed and sat down on the dock, his feet on the second highest step. Archie fell back into water and Maximus watched Archie swim just below the surface, the tail on his back skimming along the blue. Archie leaned against the step that was just coated with water and pouted at him. “Still too far.”

“Amazingly, I still don’t trust you.”

“Maxie, this is straining my neck to look up at you.”

“And it must be horrible for you to have to deal with a stiff neck.” Maximus stared at him and had an odd thought, a distant connection. “How do you even sleep?”

Archie didn’t seem confused by the sudden change in subject. That might’ve been their ‘thing’ now, their easy deflection to other questions without questioning. “Mermaids float in a secluded place or with others so we don’t just drift with the currents and get lost. Does sleeping for humans give you stiff necks?”

“Yes. We just lie down with something under our heads to prop it up. It can be painful depending on the position, the angle. I’ve accepted that my shoulders and neck will forever be taut.”

Archie shook his head. “Weird.”

“You have a fish tail.”

“And you don’t.” He flicked his hand up at Maximus and splashed drops of water onto Maximus’ pants. “Get closer.”

Maximus sighed. “How much closer should I get?”

“Feet close to the water, either on this step—” he slapped the thin layer of water on the step Archie was resting on “or the one above. I just want you closer.”

Archie’s words heavily settled in Maximus’ stomach. He swallowed. “Oh?”

“Yeah.” Archie smiled. “When you’re high above me like that, I can see up your nose. Also the light shines off your glasses and makes you look so weird.”

The heaviness in Maximus’ stomach dissolved and he sighed. “Why am I even here?” he muttered.

“Cause you like me.”

“Hardly,” Maximus walked down and settled his feet above the watery step. “It is simply a nice place to compile my daily notes. I did it long before you showed up.”

“Notes on rocks, right?”

“To put simply, yes. It’s much more complicated than that, but I’m sure you wouldn’t understand it if I told you.”

“Mmm, try.”

Maximus blinked and looked down at him. “Why?”

“Cause you like it. And I want to hear why you like it.”

“You’ll be bored.”

“I might be. You shouldn’t let that stop you.”

Maximus talked about his interests and studies with his parents, with a handful of his friends when he was in high school, online. No one understood. He could talk with Tabitha and Courtney and other classmates, but that was different because they were all guaranteed to be invested in whatever was said. He wanted to be able to share his opinions with the masses. Some subjects, people Just Got and could be excited about when people talked about it. Geology wasn’t. Talking to people only led to disappointment all around, though it weighed on his mind more than those he talked at, he was sure. “Are you sure?”

“Maxie,” Archie said and Maximus was surprised at how natural the name sounded when it came out of his mouth, like it was his name and not just a nickname given to him by others, “I never do anything if I ain’t interested. So try for me.”

Maximus tried. Perhaps he didn’t simplify his language enough, didn’t explain the simple concepts that were only simple thanks to five years of schooling, but when he looked down at Archie, he was just staring up at him, not bored, not with glassy eyes, just looking at him and absorbing information. He started going through his notes, going through his traditional sunset routine but explaining what he did, what he discovered, what he hoped to gain. The sun was nearly swallowed by the sea when Maximus cleared his throat and looked down at Archie. Archie lifted his head and smiled a bit at him. “Did you really get all that?”

Archie flashed a grin, all teeth. “Nope.”

Maximus planted his feet on the ground, ready to just get up and leave.

“I don’t need to get it though. Land ain’t my thing. But it’s yours. And you really looked happy when you started talking ‘bout it. And it was nice to see you get really into your zone, talking about stuff you know. I don’t need to understand your words, just your face. And your face was very into this.”

Maximus rolled his eyes. “Well at least you’re entertained by that.” Maximus looked out at the sunset. “I need to go.”

Archie put his hand against Maximus’ ankle. “Wait a bit.”

“What am I waiting for, exactly?”

“Can you do something for me?”

“I suppose since you sat through a geology lecture, I could humor you. What do you want?”

“It’s a multi-step process.”

“I do have to eat eventually.”

“Yeah, I know. Won’t take long. So can you put your stuff somewhere dry?”

Maximus put his stuff on the dry dock above his head.

“Now come into the water.”

Maximus felt the world shrink just a bit and forced his voice level. “I can’t swim.”

“Don’t want you to come far, just get the water up to here—” he pounded the flat of his hand above his chest, just above his nipples.

“That’s too high,” Maximus said, moving back a bit.

Archie’s voice was level. “Too high then. Just to a level you’re comfortable with then.”

Maximus slid his feet to the step below and Archie swam backwards. Water splashed onto the edges of his pants and soaked them from kaki to brown. “My clothes are going to get soaked.” The words felt flat on his lips, a protest for the sake of protesting. 

Either Archie noticed, or he didn’t care either way. “Sorry. Nothing I can do about that.”

Maximus slipped into the water. Archie swam in an arc around the dock, watching him, but not touching him. He moved down until the water moved against his chest and he hissed like he was in pain. Archie muttered something comforting and rubbed his arm. Maximus gripped the step on either side of his hips, holding himself in place in case he started floating away. His pants were heavy and his legs were useless weights. He felt nervousness chewing at his stomach and moving up and down his body, shaking as it went. He cleared his throat and pushed everything down, away and focused on Archie, on his close proximity, how he was wide like a wall, how that wall meant he was safe. “There. Now my clothes are wet. What was so important?”

Archie swam close, pressed up against Maximus’ knees. His hands skimmed the area next to Maxie’s legs. “Can ya let me closer, Maxie?”

Maximus raised an eyebrow, trying to keep his face impassive stone as he shifted his legs apart. He swore that the movement of the ocean was because of his heart frantically pounding, pushing the water away.

“Thanks, Maxie.” Archie moved closer, slipped his arms in the gap between Maximus’ arms and his waist. They were close, water from Archie’s beard dripping on Maximus’ shirt. He couldn’t look away from his eyes. They had different shades to it, not just solid blue. The color kept lightening and darkening and swirling around itself and Maximus could not stop himself from staring and noticing.

Maximus spoke, his voice just barely above a whisper. “I thought you said you wouldn’t grab me today.”

“Ain’t grabbing, am I?”

“I suppose you aren’t.” Maximus glanced down at Archie’s lips, the tip of his beard, back up to his eyes, got distracted by the dark scar over his cheekbones. He watched as it got closer, watched Archie’s eyes flutter closed as their foreheads rested together. He let out a long, hot breath onto Maximus’ lips. His glasses steamed up. Maximus let his arm rise out of the water and wrap his fingers around Archie’s bicep, too thick to even think of his fingers connecting, and Maximus held on. Maximus stared forward, even though there was nothing to see, just dark skin pressing against him, water streaking down across his glasses and doubling and tripling Archie’s image in its trail. Archie let out another sigh and pulled back and buried his nose into Maximus’ neck, raising one arm to wrap around Maximus’ back and pull him closer, wet chest flush against his shirt. His thoughts were swimming, floating and all he could think was Archie Archie Archie and the occasional burst of how illogical he was before he shook that away and fell back into Archie’s arms. Maximus swallowed, his throat the only dry part of him now. “Alright, now you’re grabbing.”

Archie chuckled, lower, not as loud as his traditional laugh. It felt private, just for Maximus and he shivered. “Guess I am.” He raised his hand to run some fingers through the ends of Maximus’ hair. Maximus wanted to sink deeper in the water and give Archie more hair to play with. He didn’t care how deep he’d have to be, he just wanted those warm fingers against his neck and that touch to continue. “You gonna come back tomorrow?”

“I have no reason not to. I’m quite fond of this routine of ours, however brief it has been. Well, our meetings have been brief. We’ve both been visiting here quite often on our own time without the other present.”

Archie brought his other arm up to brush a finger against Maximus’ lip. “Don’t feed me so many words now. I gotta have something to look forward to tomorrow.” 

Maximus pushed Archie’s hand away. “I’m sure you’ll find something about me to entertain yourself with.”

Archie laughed, loud, too close to Maximus’ face and Maximus couldn’t fight the smile that tugged at his lips that time. “Yeah, I will.” Archie moved his hand up to Maximus’ cheek, hesitated, and ruffled Maximus’ hair instead before laughing and diving in the water where he couldn’t hear Maximus’ long, extended protests about his wet and ruffled hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I write 'nipples' in a non-sexual situation without giggling every single time I edit that passage? Nope. Not at all.


	6. Day 17

“So I think I’ve gotten used to your nickname.”

Archie tilted his head. He’d only just stuck his head out of the water and he looked like a scolded lillipup. “T’ what?”

“Maxie. That nickname you gave me. I’ve become acquainted to it. I’ve started responding to it. I’ve accepted it as my name. I hope you feel happy.”

“You’re weird.”

Maxie sighed and pushed his notes against his forehead. That wasn’t completely true, what he said. He had responded to it before, but he always insisted his name was Maximus. Archie had said his name a lot yesterday and he couldn’t deny how nice it felt, how lovely the brevity of it was. When a professor went to Maxie and called him Maximus, Maxie corrected him and then realized what he had done. It felt odd coming out of other people still. No one quite owned “Maxie” like Archie did. The name, not the person. The way Archie said his name with the perfect enunciation, not the way it made Maxie’s heart beat. 

“How’s those rocks going?”

Ah yes, a distraction. Maxie sighed and let himself be deflated by the change of subject. “The excitement has already started to wane.”

“Oh no what did those rocks do to you?”

“There’s just nothing new to explore and analyze. I’ve talked about my findings with some other majors, Courtney and Tabitha, and they’ve found the same thing I have. I’m going to be here for a month and I haven’t got anything to significantly call my own. My time here is half over and only the wording in the reports is going to be different.”

“Isn’t that how things work? Nobody really comes up with bold ideas, just establish what’s already there. ‘Sides, you’re still in school.”

“I realize that. But I want to be worth something, to discover something different, make a change one day. I know I can’t do it here, that nothing I discover here that hasn’t been discovered, but I want to do something.” He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. “Sorry. This isn’t the most exciting of conversations.”

“It’s fine. You’re allowed to complain.” Archie tapped his fingers against Maxie’s leg. Maxie wasn’t as submerged as he was yesterday, sitting with his feet on the waterlogged step, but he fully expected going deeper today. Archie leaned against the dock, tilting his head to rest against Maxie’s pale leg. “Wanna work for a bit on your things? I gotta think.”

“I’ll be sure to work in absolute silence.”

Maxie didn’t find it awkward to see the dark tuff of Archie’s head near his knee. It was surprising how comfortable Archie was to be around. Maxie didn’t like silence from others. He wasn’t social, but if they were around, he expected stimulating conversation. But this silence was calming, not awkward, just peaceful. And in that respect, he let himself be washed over by that warmth.

But it was odd to have Archie there and be quiet. Archie constantly talked, the air was always filled with his voice. Archie was loudness and conversation and belly laughs. Maxie found himself content with the quiet while simultaneously wanting to hear something from the man against him. Archie started playing with the red hair on Maxie’s leg after a while, and Maxie found himself speaking without prompt, unable to sit in silence anymore. “So what’s got you so quiet?”

Archie smirked. Maxie wondered if Archie was thinking the same things that he was “Can’t bear to be without my voice for a minute, can you?”

Maxie pushed Archie’s head. “Hardly.”

“I was thinking about a cave I found. You might like it.”

Maxie paused, trying to keep his voice level. “Really?”

“Yeah. Maybe you can come by earlier and I can take you there.”

“Sounds good,” Maxie said, keeping his face blank even though he was already excited at the thought of a cave somewhere, secluded. With Archie. Oh, that added another dynamic. “I’ll need to get a waterproof bag, as well as towels, perhaps even a change of clothes.”

“You seem rather unconcerned about the water thing. I’ll have to take you under and over water, y’know.”

“I’m aware. I’m still scared, if that’s what you’re wondering. But it’ll be fine.”

“We’ll have to go out into sea quite a bit.”

“I understand. I trust you to take care of me. You’ve done it before when I’ve known you for less, and now that we’ve shared a conversation, I’m certain that you’ll take care of me and protect me and not let me drown.” He cleared his throat, not comfortable with the words that easily fell out of his mouth and how haphazardly they did so.

“Get those notes off your lap,” Archie said and Maxie put his notes behind him as Archie turned around and put his hands on Maxie’s knees and pushed himself up, out of the water. “You ain’t allowed to say such things when you’re this high above water.”

“Oh?” Maxie asked, stabilizing Archie’s arms behind his elbows, though he didn’t have any trouble hoisting himself up. “What things?”

“Such cute things,” Archie pushed himself up further and ended up lying across Maxie’s legs, his head in his lap. He wrapped one arm around Maxie’s waist and reached up to cup Maxie’s cheek, stroking his cheekbone. “You’re going to have to stop that right now.”

Maxie leaned into Archie’s hand. “I’m sorry for expressing my trust in you, that I believe that I can face my fears as long as you are there.”

Archie hooked his finger into Maxie’s mouth and pulled it against his cheek. “Don’t do that. I can’t get out of the water.”

Maxie tried to tell Archie to get his hand out of his mouth, but it slurred on its way out.

“Get in the water and I will.”

Maxie shoved Archie’s shoulder to unhook his finger. A painful chain of events followed. Archie’s finger popped out of Maxie’s mouth, which was a plus, but he was still clinging to Maxie’s waist as he fell back into the water. Maxie slid down the steps as well, dragged down with Archie. By time a step smashed against his tailbone and stopped him, he was up to his neck in cold water. Maxie tilted his head back and groaned. “That was painful.”

Archie rested his hand on Maxie’s shoulder. “Shit, you okay?”

“Don’t ask to kiss it better.”

“That ain’t what I’m concerned about. You should probably get out of the water. You’re in deep here—”

Maxie gripped Archie’s arm and shut him up. His pulse was low, considering he was deep under water. But Archie was practically pressed up against him and he felt there was a wall surrounding him. “As long as you’re here, touching me, I’ll be fine. I feel safe.”

Archie surged forward and crashed their lips together and their first kiss was met with clashing teeth and Archie’s incisor cutting Maxie’s lip. Maxie hissed and Archie winced and they both pulled back. “Shit, sorry Max.” Archie ran his finger over the cut, wiping blood away.

“I forgot you had sharp teeth.”

Archie grinned and it was hard to miss the jagged sharp lines of teeth, especially since Archie’s face was so close that Maxie could count each point. “How’d you do that?”

“Well, I suppose I found myself distracted by your lips more than your teeth.”

Archie ran his tongue over Maxie’s lip, already welling with blood again. “You can’t start that again.”

“Oh? But I’m enjoying this reaction. You’ll have to stop me yourself, otherwise I’ll keep talking.”

Maxie cupped Archie’s cheek as he leaned forward and brought them into their second kiss, slower, gentle, their bodies pressed so close that water had a hard time filling the gap between them. Archie was warm, and he sucked Maxie’s split lip. It didn’t hurt, even as Maxie’s blood coated Archie’s tongue. Archie pulled away first and sighed when their lips broke apart. He raised his hand and ran it through Maxie’s hair, slicking it back. “Your glasses are all drippy.”

“I think that’s an occupational hazard when I’m around you.”

“Must suck not being able to see me.”

Maxie hummed. “You haven’t fogged up the glass completely.”

Archie leaned in and kissed the corner of Maxie’s mouth and then rested their foreheads together. “So what’s this now? Us?”

Maxie thought. How long had they even known each other? Had they even progressed to a point where they could call each other friends, let alone begin dating? Was there even a concept in mermaid culture? “You have the freedom to quantify your own relationship.”

“Ye just used ‘quantify’. You’re the more wordy one here.” Archie booped Maxie’s nose with his finger.

Maxie pushed Archie’s hand away. “Fine. We’re in an odd relationship I will never be able to explain to my friends, and I expect the same for you. Or are mermaids more accepting of inter-species relationships?”

“Nah. And those were very boring words.”

“I’m terribly sorry. What will you make me do to make it up to you?”

“Nah, you don’t have to make it up to me at all.”

“But?”

“I want to see your legs.”

Maxie shifted on the dock. “In what context because I’m not quite ready to leap from awkward kissing to fumbling around with different anatomy.”

“It wasn’t awkward. Not the second one, really. We figured it out quickly. I just wanna see them. Considering I don’t have them.”

“I hope you can return the favor then.”

“‘Course.”

Maxie gestured down to his body, submerged in the water. “Have fun then.”

“Great,” Archie said and then dived into water. Maxie stiffed a bit before he relaxed when Archie touched his leg. He was still there, he was still there. He could still see Archie in the water, could see his dark hair flowing in the water. He was still safe. He still gripped the step tightly as he let his legs rise up to float in the water. Archie ran his hand over Maxie’s legs, fingers going under his swim trunk briefly before going back to his knee, bending it. Maxie tilted his head back and let Archie move him. It was odd, probably too personal and intimate, but it was easy for Maxie to separate themselves, to put their kissing separately from Archie’s hands running up and down his calf. The touch felt clinical, examining, purely out of scientific interest in his existence as a different species rather than any personal investment. Especially since Archie seemed absolutely fascinated with Maxie’s toes.

“Archie, if you keep playing with my foot, I’m going to kick you in the face.”

Archie’s hands moved up his leg, up higher and that touch wasn’t much better. It was quickly slipping into a position he wasn’t entirely comfortable with at the moment. Maxie put his hand over Archie’s where it sat at his pelvis. Archie raised his head out of the water. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re getting a little personal.”

“Aren’t we already personal?”

“With genitalia.”

Archie removed his hands and grimaced. “Yeah we’ll figure that our later.”

“So did you have fun playing with my toes?”

Archie tilted his head and Maxie raised his foot out of the water and wiggled his toes. Archie’s lips made an ‘o’ in recognition and pointed at them. “Yeah those are weird.”

“Well you have a fin, I assume.”

“Is that an unsubtle way of asking to see my tail right now?”

“If I want something, I would articulate it and leave you no room to guess. But I wouldn’t be adverse to it.”

“Kyogre, you use too many words,” Archie said, floating onto his back. “But knock yourself out. Favor officially returned.”

Maxie started at the end of Archie’s tail. He wrapped his hands around the thick blue fin. Archie lifted it up out of the water for him to examine completely. Maxie watched the water droplets slide down his tail and back into the water, eyes following each motion. His fingers followed the trail of water. Archie’s tail was rough depending on which way his hand slid, the texture of sandpaper but with the touch far softer than that, more like plastic than anything else.

“Don’t cut yourself,” Archie muttered. He was staring at Maxie’s fingers rather than his face.

“Is that possible?”

“Wouldn’t mention it if it wasn’t. If you move your hand too fast one way, you will.”

“I’ll keep it slow then.” Maxie slowly brought his fingers along his white underside, trailing his fingers down to see if there was a difference in the sharp contract of the white underbelly and the navy back. There wasn’t. It was just a difference in color, a gentle fade into blue. He moved back up to the white part of Archie’s tail. He absently thought that he should’ve learned more biology, learned to appreciate the long and lithe form of Archie’s tail. He’d also know what those small, twin fins about a foot down from where his tail merged into human skin were. They were too short and not flat enough to do anything like steer. There was a long flat flap of skin underneath it, like a plate. Maxie ran his finger over the flat part. It was smoother, smoother than skin. “Is this sensitive?”

Archie shrugged. He had his eyes closed, like he was sunbathing. “A bit.”

Maxie pulled his hand away and rubbed his fingers together. “It certainly is interesting. I didn’t expect the texture.”

Archie kicked out into the water before swimming back in, lounging on the step behind Maxie’s head. “You’re so boring. Didn’t you find anything exciting about it?”

“I’m not a biologist. I only satisfied mild curiosity.”

Archie scoffed. “So you’d be excited if I was made of rock?”

“Yes.”

Archie cupped his hands under the water and lifted them above Maxie’s head, opening them and watching it splash down and flatten his hair. Maxie shoved him away, then grabbed his shoulders and pulled him into a kiss, giving Archie’s top lip a gentle bite before they pulled away and Archie cupped his cheek and pressed their foreheads together. Their breath mingled together and it smelled like they were submerged in salt. “Sunrise,” Archie breathed out, “Come back at sunrise. That way we’ll have the entire day for each other.”

“And rocks.”

Archie rolled his eyes. “And those cock-blocking rocks.”

Maxie pressed his lips against Archie’s forehead and patted his shoulder, letting him go. He watched Archie swim away and disappear under the surface. Maxie stood up and went back up the stairs, slowly, with waterlogged clothes, wondering how he was going to handle his notes. Or how he was going to explain to Courtney why he soaking wet when he was afraid of the ocean.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When you get 30 pages into what is supposed to be a one-shot and the couple just shared their first kiss, you begin to wonder if it's a bit too long. Which is why it's a multi-chapter fic now.


	7. Day 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're into geology even a bit, I'm sorry I just googled interesting caves to figure out what was so interesting about them so everything Maxie is coated in a fine layer of BS and minimal research.

Maxie went to bed early and woke up earlier. The sky was burnt orange when he sat on the dock with his just-got-the-tags-cut-off waterproof backpack in his lap. Archie wasn’t there yet. Maxie laid back and decided to watch the sun rise, watch the sky fade into different colors.

That was the plan, and then Archie splashed him and he woke up with a jolt to a pink sky. Maxie sat up straight, blinked rapidly, then groaned and rubbed his face. “Were you asleep for long?” Archie asked, sounding far too awake for so early, his voice already at his traditional pitch while Maxie’s voice was still scratchy and hoarse and cracked around the edges. 

“Not at all.”

“Sorry I was late.”

“It’s fine,” Maxie said, rubbing his face, scrubbing sleep away. He held his face and sighed. “I’m fine,” he repeated.

And Maxie could hear the smile in Archie’s far too chipper voice. “Not a morning person?”

“Not for this kind of morning. It’s too early.” He yawned and cracked his neck. “Hopefully I’ll wake up when I see this cave of yours.”

“It’s a pretty cool cave. ‘Course, I don’t fuck rocks so maybe I’m over or under estimating it.”

“I’m certain it will be lovely,” Maxie reassured him before he stepped into the water. Archie slid his hands up his body as more and more of it sank into the water, steadying him, reassuring him. When he was up to his chest, Archie let Maxie go and turned around, letting him onto his back. Maxie wrapped his arms and legs around Archie. “I’m on.” He slid down a bit, felt the sharp fin on Archie’s back against his backside and shimmied up. He heard Archie chuckle and a retort stun at his throat, only to be swallowed as Archie started swimming away. He pressed his face into Archie’s hair. “I’m fine,” he muttered.

“Of course you are.”

Maxie grumbled and clung to Archie. “Just keep going.”

“I’m going.”

He was. Even with his eyes closed, Maxie could feel the sea shift around them, feel Archie’s muscles in his back tighten and loosen with each pull of his arms. Archie’s swimming was as steady as the tide, smooth motions that didn’t change. “You can go as fast as you want.”

“Don’t want to spook you. ‘Cause of the water moving, and whatnot. You’re doing so well, but I don’t want to make it worse”

Maxie’s fingers rubbed back and forth along Archie’s skin. “I’m not afraid of the ocean itself.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

Maxie wondered for a second if that was a shut down, a gentle way of telling him to stop talking. But Archie’s head was tilted to the side, ready to drink up whatever Maxie had to say. So Maxie talked. “It’s the idea of depth and unknown. I have the same problem with darkness as well as space. Flying can cause me to have a panic attack sometimes as well. But water is the worst, I feel. For many reasons. I have a flashlight to illuminate the darkness, and the possibility that I will ever go into space is not likely. But there’s so many species of pokémon under the ocean. Water is the most prevalent type of known pokémon in the human world. How much have we just not discovered? Even with scientific advancements, pokémon still surprise us, and every day some advancement is made and a new pokémon makes its home in a region where it was not native. And the ocean is still so deep, so much still out there to discover in places we cannot even hope to reach. It’s as vast as the sky, but you can see far up into the sky but not into the water. So that’s where my fear steams from.”

Archie looked over his shoulder at Maxie.

“I suppose that’s why I feel so safe while you’re here. Because it isn’t me in the vastness of the ocean. It’s you and me.”

“Why do you keep saying things while you’re out of reach? I can’t make out with you when you’re on my back. ‘Less I flip over.” Archie started tilting and Maxie squawked out something that was supposed to be a word and clung tighter. “So that won’t work.”

“That _certainly_ won’t work!”

“What will it take to get you under water? Just to swim for fun.”

“A large amount of peer pressure that’d make me hate you, I’m sure.”

“Too bad. I’d like to see how that red hair of yours looks underwater.”

“I’d assume the same way it looks up here.”

“I won’t pressure you though.”

“Good.”

“We’re nearly there, by the way.”

“Even better.”

Archie swam a couple feet. He swore.

“What is it?”

“Well…”

“Something didn’t touch you, did it?”

“Nobody’s touching me but you.”

“Then what was that?”

“Well,” Archie grimaced. “Sometimes I forget that you’re not a mermaid.”

“How could you forget something like that?” 

“It ain’t natural for me. So like, the directions and things that are natural to me, don’t mean that it’s easy for you. Y’know?”

“Not personally, though I’ve frequently heard that people with disabilities have trouble when people don’t consider how many steps require effort that is not so easily expendable.”

Archie hummed and nodded, tucking away that information before talking again. “So I didn’t consider what is traversable and isn’t, just the directions, you know?”

“I understand,” Maxie said, feeling something sink in his stomach.

“So. We’re going to have to go underwater.”

Maxie nearly fell off Archie’s back.

“Literally did not occur to me,” Archie said, voice level and calm, like they were just talking like they usually were. “It’s in a bubble, see. Well not an actual bubble but it’s the principle.” Archie sighed and rubbed Maxie’s arm. “Sorry. I didn’t think enough. You want to go?”

“Yes. But I don’t think I can.”

“You can though.”

“Well, it’s a matter of pride, and my own curiosity propelling me forward.”

“We’ll do it together. I’ve got you. And I won’t ever let you go. If yer ready, I’ll take you, if yer not. Well, we’ll improvise.”

“Stop.” Archie did and squeezed Maxie’s hand. “Let me breathe.” He pressed his face into Archie’s hair and stayed there for a while, until the smell of sea salt made him dizzy. “Go.”

Archie stayed silent and swam slowly. Maxie found himself reciting the periodic table again until Archie spoke up again. “We’re here. I’ve got an idea.”

“Tell me it, don’t act it out.”

He pointed at a rock in the middle of the sea. “You’re going to climb on that rock and hold on while I flip onto my back.”

“I don’t like this idea.”

“Ain’t finished yet. You get back onto my stomach and I’ll hold you. I’ll swim under and bring you up. You got that Max? I’ll be holding you. You’ll be fine. You’ll bury your nose into my chest. Got a lot of chest, it’ll block out everything. And I’ll be grasping your bony butt if you like.”

Maxie barked out a laugh just on the right side of hysterical. “Alright. We’ll try. Do you know what a panicked person who can’t breathe looks like?”

“I’m sure I can figure it out what it is and get you out of that situation. If you trust me.”

“I do. Get me to that rock.”

“Thanks, Max.” Archie swam to a rock, one that had been eroded by the waves so it flatter and smoother on one side, enough so that Maxie could balance on it while Archie flipped over onto his back. He reached up and held Maxie’s ankles, sliding them up his legs while Maxie tried to maneuver himself into the water without hurting Archie. It took a while, a lot of pulling away and regaining balance until he knelt down and slid into Archie’s arms. Maxie was silent while they fumbled, and Archie just mumbled praises and assurances to him with every stroke of his thumb against Maxie’s skin. He settled on Archie chest, legs crossed and linked under the sharp point of his fin. He leaned down and rested on Archie’s chest, relaxing into the arms that wrapped around him and held him tight. If he ignored the blue expanse he was in the middle of, he would’ve been completely content with life. Archie rubbed his back. “I’m just going to swim around a bit, see if you’re comfortable.”

Maxie nodded and held on as Archie began swimming, slowly, his tail pumping and pushing them forward. It was like a heartbeat, a burst and then a lull to take in a shaky breath before having it pushed out with sudden motion. He didn’t like it. “Faster,” Maxie said. He had no energy to glower at Archie’s amused and perverted smirk as he raised his tail and slammed it down, pushing them forward with extra force, no pause in between. Maxie bent forward and pressed his nose against Archie’s chest.

“Max?”

It was better. It had to be. “We’re good. Go.”

“Wrap your arms around me, so I know you’re safe.”

It seemed odd, considering the solid weights against his back holding Maxie to Archie with no hope of moving, but Maxie slid his arms around Archie’s solid bulk and clung to him. “I’m ready.” 

“I got you,” Archie muttered, curling up to kiss the top of Maxie’s head, a hand coming up to run his fingers through Maxie’s hair. The other remained pressed into the small of his back. “Hold your breath.”

Maxie took in a deep mouthful of air as Archie leaned back into the ocean. Maxie kept his eyes squeezed shut and clung to him as he was submerged into warm water, salt stinging as it pushed up his nose. He felt Archie press down on his head as he swam, felt his chest rise and fall rapidly with each breath and heartbeat as he surged forward. Maxie’s lungs burned and he dug his fingers into Archie’s back. Archie fisted Maxie’s hair and swam up and the water burst around them and fell while Maxie coughed a breath out. He still clung to Archie as he struggled for air, registering Archie’s voice muttering something, but he couldn’t understand anything but white noise. 

Archie’s voice began to clear. “—got you Maxie, got you.”

Maxie nodded and was able to pull away from Archie’s chest and look down at him through the water dripping down his glasses. “I know.”

Archie smiled and rubbed Maxie’s cheek. “Oh, Maxie, you did brilliantly. Didja know that? You were so good.”

“I didn’t realize…” he licked his lips and breathed heavily, “that I was the epitome of calmness.”

“You don’t need to be calm, you just needed to make it through it and Max you made it.”

Maxie rubbed his face and laughed until the weights fell off of his shoulders. “I suppose I did.”

Archie pulled on Maxie’s shoulders until he bent down down enough for Archie to kiss his forehead. “Now come back down and I’ll take you to land.”

Maxie rested his forearms on Archie’s chest and held his shoulders as Archie slowly pushed him towards shore. Maxie couldn’t see much of the cave they were in. Just like Archie said, it was like a bubble, as Archie said, a thick curve of rock over the ocean that was allowed to slip in and fill the space. It was spotted with holes where pokémon had burrowed into the walls, letting some light shine in. It was still dark, but he could see enough of Archie and his surroundings. His dripping glasses were the thing that was limiting the vision, not the cave itself.

It was darker inside though. He could see where the reflection of light on the water stopped and the blackness grew. Archie brought him as close as he could go and Maxie rolled off him and into knee-deep water. He pulled his bag off and dragged his shaking legs onto land. He kneeled in the shallow water and opened his bag. On top of everything else stacked in his bag, there was a thick red towel, blocking out any water that would drop onto everything below. He dried himself off as much as he could, trying to get the water off his glasses without streaking them, before he reached down and pulled out his light. He shined its light into the darkness. He could see stalagmites reaching to the ceiling, other curves of rocks deeper in the shadows of the cave that his light wouldn’t illuminate. He swept the flashlight over the mouth entrance and saw his light coming back in shades of red and blue and pure white. “There’s crystals…” Maxie breathed out. He turned around to face Archie, floating in the water, in a spotlight. “Archie, there’s crystals here!”

“I’ve seen them before,” Archie said with a small smile, like he’d found something grand. “Sometimes when the light gets just right. It’s hard to see though.”

Maxie went into the water and knelt down in the shallows, water splashing against his chest as he fell onto his knees. Archie swam forward and dragged himself to him, planting his arms on either side of Maxie’s knees. Maxie cupped Archie’s face and kissed him. “Thank you,” he muttered against Archie’s lips. Archie chuckled and pulled him in for another kiss, squeezing his arm. They kissed for a while, breathing into each other’s mouths before Maxie pulled away, red faced. “I need to explore the cave.”

Archie smiled and patted Maxie’s arm. “Go ahead.”

“You can go, if you like.”

“Like I’m leaving you. I’ll be right here, if you need me.”

“I’m sure if a crowbat attempts to make a nest out of my hair, you’ll be right there to save me.”

“I’d crawl across the cave if it means calming you down.”

“Well aren’t you sweet,” Maxie said, kissing Archie’s head.

“Well don’t you make everything sound patronizing.”

Maxie pushed up his glasses with a smile and stood up. “I’ll be back. I’ll try not to leave you alone for long.” Maxie went over to his bag and began unpacking it. He pulled out three different headlamps, tying one around each of his wrists and then putting one on his forehead. Archie snickered and Maxie sighed and shook his head. “It is a necessary precaution.” He shook a can of repel and sprayed it on. “I don’t want my peripherals dark.”

“Yep. I understand. It’s perfectly logical. It’s fucking adorable too.”

Maxie rolled his eyes and got out his notes and marched towards the entrance. He knelt down one of the crystals and started working. Archie’s tail slapped the water every couple minutes, proof that he was still there. He was quiet otherwise. Maxie glanced at Archie a couple of times and found him watching. It was amazing how he tolerated the silence and the distance, how he was perfectly content with watching Maxie sit and stare and examine rocks.

Maxie felt himself smile and his heart get dragged down to his stomach to be clawed at but uneasy nervousness. Was this a thing Archie had happen to people? Did he always make people feel sentimental? Or was that all Maxie and his actual emotions? That was alarming. He should focus on his work, on collecting samples and analyzing his environment. This was his zone. This was him. This had always been him. He could always lose himself in the facets of how the world functioned. But he found his thoughts wandering, not just when Archie’s tail slapped and reminded him that he was there, but just randomly, thinking about Archie in general, about everything.

He finished up his analysis of the cave entrance and went back into the water. “That can’t be all,” Archie said.

“It’s not. This constitutes skimming my fingernail over the surface. But I need a break.” Maxie took off all his lamps and let them shine upward. He slid into the water next to Archie and laid down. The water was a gentle slope, so even lying down with his head against a cushion of water, the water barely went up to his chest. Archie splashed down next to Maxie and crawled over to his side. Maxie raised an eyebrow as Archie rested his head on his arms. “You seem to want attention.” 

“Can’t help it.”

“I’m sure you can,” Maxie said, running his fingers through Archie’s hair. It was dry near the tips. It felt just like normal hair, like his. “You’re not going to dry out, are you?”

“It’s really cool in here. I’ll be fine.”

“If you—”

“I know how to take care of myself.” Archie kissed Maxie’s cheek. “Though thanks. Really. It’s cute.”

“Caring for someone’s wellbeing is cute? And here I thought I had low standards.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Archie pinched Maxie’s nose. “Hey, what’s that supposed to mean!”

“You’re pinching my nose. I have no need for words.”

Archie pouted and let Maxie’ nose go and flicked water onto his glasses. “So you figure much out in your fingernail skimming?”

“I can postulate that this was once a volcanic cave. That’s the only way that these crystals can form.”

“Cool. You think you’d be able figure out when?”

“Perhaps. Not on my own. That’d require lab work. I’m interested in finding out though.”

“Will you tell me what you find out?”

“If you’d hear me.”

“Cool. I won’t understand any of it. It’ll be great.”

Maxie chuckled and rubbed his head. “So how did you find this cave?”

“Just swimming around. A couple of other mermaids know this place too. They’re not really interested though. Comes with the fact that we can’t explore the cave. But it’s pretty isolated and far away. I haven’t seen any entrances on land. Maybe they’re higher up, but I think as far as everyone else cares, this is just a large rock. It’s all yours.”

“We’ve been in a relationship for less than a day and you’re already giving me large gifts for me to roam around in? Why, you’re a regular _Beauty and the Beartic._ ”

Archie tilted his head. “Never heard of that.”

Maxie ended up putting off work even longer in order to explain to Archie the Kalosian story of _Beauty and the Beartic._ It certainly wasn’t something he expected having to explain in the middle of a date. They were childhood stories, stories that he knew through cultural assimilation, not through his own interest. 

But Archie had never heard anything like it before and drank it up. “And he became human at the end?”

“He was always human. But yes. That’s the point.”

“That’s depressing. He was fine on his own, being a beartic.”

“You don’t know that. I’ve only summarized the story.”

“But why’d he have to be human? Like, they had love. They’d’ve worked it out. Why couldn’t he be happy as he was?”

“Because that’s not how the story is.”

Archie sighed and shimmied into the water, diving under the surface. Maxie sat up and waited until Archie pushed out of the water, pushing his wet hair out of his face before looking back at Maxie. “What do they say about mermaids?”

“Mermaids strive to become human.”

“No one wants to be a mermaid.”

“People do. But those are fantasies.” Maxie swallowed a rock in his throat and continued. “When it comes to stories, with an ending an effect, they’d rather have humans ever after, whether the protagonist is another creature or a human.”

Archie sighed and looked at the water.

“I should get back to work.”

“Yeah.”

Maxie went back to work, somehow able to focus on his analysis. He felt too guilty to look up at Archie, to find himself drifting to comforting thoughts of Archie’s warmth, smile, laugh, touch, kindness, hands, lips, eyes, because from when Archie told him he’d hear about his work to when he buried his face into Archie’s chest and sank below the water again, to when he was left on the dock watching Archie wave and fall below the surface, all he thought was “I wish you had legs.”


	8. Day 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I Took An Environmental Justice Class And All I'm Using My Knowledge For Is To Understand and Dictate Maxie's Motivations

With routine, things would get easier to handle. Something painful would scab over and recover. But that would take time, from days to months. Maxie was not used the water yet, not to its presence. He found himself talking to Archie as he swam. Archie was swimming on his back, Maxie’s elbows braced on his chest. “Are you sure this isn’t uncomfortable?”

“Oh, this position is horrible. It’s hard to swim and I can’t really see where I’m going. But it’s easier than having you like this when we have to dive. Besides, I like seeing you with the sun behind your head.”

“Don’t blind yourself.”

“Aw, are you calling yourself radiant?”

“No I’m saying that if you stare at the sun, you’ll damage your eyesight.”

“That why you need those glasses?”

“Perhaps.”

“You seem like the kind of guy who just stares at the sun and thinks of a better life.”

Maximus stared at Archie for a long moment while he tilted his head back and looked ahead of him. “What did I do to make you think that?”

He kept looking and then brought his head back to center. “I dunno. I may be projecting.”

“So you came up onto the surface and dreamed of the outside world?”

“I guess. I mean, I used to wonder if it was better up on the surface. It’s pretty crappy down here.”

“Really?”

“Yep. But that’s depressing. Let’s not talk about it.”

“Not when you’ve brought it up. We’ll put a pin in it.”

Archie smiled at him. It somehow to delicately toeing the line between fond and amused. “Wouldn’t be us if we didn’t have super serious conversations all the time.”

“I didn’t know we had been together long enough to have something uniquely us.”

Archie laughed. “How many days will it take before that’s proper for you?”

“Oh, I don’t know. That hasn’t ever been something I’ve thought about. I haven’t been in a relationship before. So I’m not sure how to navigate it.”

“Relationships ain’t complicated. They don’t need navigating. You just pick a direction and go.”

“You can’t just think if you stick your dick in it and hope everything comes out alright. There has to be planning, communication, established boundaries.”

“We haven’t done any of that. And yet we’ve shared a kiss and you’ve practically flung out of your comfort zone. I’d say that our no planning plan is pretty solid.”

“We’ll see how long that lasts.”

Archie’s swimming slowed. “Do you really think that?”

“Pardon?”

“That we won’t last? I mean, this isn’t easy, but we’re making this work. I mean, it’s been three days or something. But. I dunno.”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Maxie muttered. “That’s just my personality. I didn’t mean any harm by it.”

Archie rubbed Maxie’s cheek. “It’s fine. I’ll pick up the pace.”

Water splashed around them as Archie slammed his tail down and swam. Maxie gripped Archie’s shoulders and Archie tightened his grip around Maxie’s waist in response. Archie knew how to navigate Maxie. It was odd to think about, that he already picked up on cues and responded to them in a correct manner. It took his parents a while to figure out how to navigate Maxie’s panic attacks but Archie met him and knew what to say, what to do. “You are wonderful.”

“Thanks Max.”

“I do mean it.”

“I know you do.” He put his hand on Maxie’s head and pushed his face into his chest. “Hold on to everything.”

Of course, he wasn’t quite as eloquent as Maxie would prefer him to be. The correct response would be “We’re going underwater now, do please hang on to me for your protection.” But that was a Maxie sentence, not an Archie one. 

Maxie clung to Archie as he dove underwater. The world filled with white noise, the sound of water moving around him, punctuated by the deeper sound of Archie’s tail pushing them forward. Maxie dug his nails into Archie’s skin and focused on the sensation of his chest moving up and down, on a movement that didn’t prompt the world shifting in order to accommodate it. Archie surfaced and Maxie let out a shuttering breath. Archie spoke softly and stroked Maxie’s hair until he nodded and they moved towards the shore. “Thank you.”

“You’re doing amazingly. Really.”

Maxie nodded and rolled off him into the shallow water. Archie held Maxie’s knee until his breath settled. “I’ll need to take a break after all this. A day off. I don’t think I can handle this.”

“It’s okay. You’ve been doing amazing. You deserve a break. Hang out with your rock friends and relax.” Archie kissed his cheek. “I’m proud of you.”

Maxie cupped Archie’s cheeks and pulled him closer, pressing their lips together. Archie stretched to reach him, his touch as gentle as the hand on his leg. They pulled away and Archie managed to peck his nose before Maxie stood and left Archie in the water. “I’m going to be going further in today,” Maxie said as he pulled out all of his equipment and pretended that he didn’t notice Archie’s goofy smile as he strapped on his lights. “So don’t worry about me.”

“I never worry about you.”

“Lie better next time.”

“Just don’t do anything that’ll get yourself hurt, okay? I’d like to scramble up on land and save you, but I can’t.”

“I’ll be fine.” Maxie toyed with blowing Archie a kiss. Then he wondered what possessed him to ever think that. He marched into the cave. The inside was even more stunning than the outside. There were dark spots of regular rocks, but the majority of the cave was large pillars of white crystals crossing along the walls and high above him. There was plenty of room to walk, whether because the cave was simply built that way or the pokémon that came to live there made it their own. Maxie saw a few bright blue sableye crystals glint in the darkness before they scuttled away into holes in the darkness, heard their claws scrape against crystals.

Caves felt a lot like the city for Maxie. The skyscrapers and the electronics seemed cold and distant to most people. In regions where everyone was so close to pokémon, to nature, people found comfort in smaller towns nestled in the wilderness in houses of wood or even built into their surroundings. Pokémon breeders could always be found in such quiet places. That was where life was. But that was an antiquated view, an old view. There was life in the cities, life in steel and glass. That was life. Mawville had as much of a beautiful environment as Fortree. It simply looked cold because it was not what people thought of when they thought of the environment. People lived in cities, made their home there. But every time people thought of life they thought of trees and mountains and pokémon and not the humans that walked along crowded streets.

Caves were full of life. People focused on the solidity and coldness of rock, but there was always life. This was a home to some. It might not be the prettiest home at times, but it is full of life and beauty. He loved examining and analyzing this life that everyone else seemed to forget.

Archie’s tail was like a clock chiming in the distance, each slap on the water reminding him how long he was there. But the land was comfortable. He could lose himself here without fear, he could stay there and not have to worry about the water. He was learning so much, gaining so much information. He didn’t want to leave. He did anyway when his stomach protested and made noises like a gulpin. He made his way back through the cave, saw Archie lift his head and move to shore as he walked into the room. “You seem like you missed me.”

Archie grabbed Maxie’s ankle as he took off all of his lights. His finger ran along the sharp bone on his leg. “I worry about you when I can’t see you.”

“You can’t see me for a long stretch of time every single day.”

“This’s different. I dunno. I just get scared. You’re fine on land, but this is a cave. It’s different.”

“How do you know I’m fine on land?”

“I’ve been spying.”

“Really? Do you have enhanced vision and hearing in order to spy on me?”

“Fine I’m lying, you happy?”

“I suppose so.”

“But you’re alright, right? Not just here but there?”

Maxie raised an eyebrow.

“We haven’t talked much, have we? Not personal life shit. Not really. And you know.”

“So we’re doing it now?”

“We’re doing it now.”

Maxie sighed and slid into the water next to him, lying back. Archie propped his head up on his hand and watched him. After a couple seconds, he reached out with his free hand and stroked his cheek. Maxie started talking, softly, so his voice didn’t echo. “Everything’s been fine recently. College and graduate school has proven to be far more mature than high school. While bullying never really changes and bullies never seem to grow out of that nature, in college people become more apathetic and accepting, possibly because they are going through more stress and simply have less capacity to care about what society thinks and encourages each other to do the same. Graduate school is even easier because the field I’m in is rather bully free. Bullies traditionally would not be interested in geography, and that doesn’t seem to be a field where brute force is applicable. So the only people you have to worry about are those in positions of power who would abuse their power over others, whether intentionally or not. Frequently, I’ve found that with teachers in college and higher, their misuse of power is unintentional. Though perhaps it’s my own changing perception.”

“I feel like you’re deflecting.” Archie said. He moved to rest his chin on Maxie’s chest so he could rub Maxie’s arm with his free hand. It was an awkward position, his chin pressing down against Maxie’s ribs, Archie’s face lost in a blur under the rim of his glasses. He was warm though, and close. That certainly made the position better. “Like, you’re talking a lot, and when ya get monologueing I can’t discern shit. I like hearing your voice so it doesn’t matter. But this really feels like deflection.”

“Well you can certainly be mistaken.”

“Who’d ever want to bully you?”

“Plenty of people. It’s only natural.”

Archie scoffed. “Natural,” he mocked. “What about you makes you bully-able?”

“I don’t know how mermaid hierarchy functions, but human bullies frequently look for specific cues.”

Archie groaned. “What cues?”

“I have glasses.”

“But you’re adorable with them.”

“I’m too skinny.”

“The fuck does that mean?”

“I don’t have traditional interests.”

“Who does?”

“I’ve always been into rocks.”

“But your eyes light up whenever you talk about them. How can people deny that?”

“People don’t look into my eyes often.”

“So those are the reasons?”

“Well I was also openly gay.”

“Ah.”

Maxie sat up a bit to look at the mermaid draped over his body, glanced down at the hands on his arm and wrist, before moving in soft patterns, now still. “Nothing to say to that?”

“I mean, they’re still jerks. But that one makes sense.” He lifted his hands off Maxie for a moment to bend two fingers into quotes. “ ‘Sense’.”

“So even mermaids deal with homophobia.”

“Yep. But mermaids, we ain’t communal. Humans, you guys can’t live without each other, without like the constant presence of people. I’ve seen it. But we’re not like that. Sometime we form schools of people we like, but that’s like five mermaids or so. We don’t need interaction. So when mermaids are different, it’s easy to just avoid them. The ocean’s big enough that you can do that. You don’t see mermaids often once you’ve run into them. So you see them, they get homophobic. You leave, they leave.”

“And they don’t follow you?”

“Nope. Ain’t worth it.” He looked at Maxie and rubbed his cheek. “Max—”

“I assume that on land, we have better security than whatever you have under the water.”

“Max—”

“It’s nothing to worry about.”

“If I could, I’d crawl up on land and tear their throats out. Anything happens, you lure them down to the ocean and I’ll take care of them.” Archie cupped the back of Maxie’s neck and kissed from his collarbone up to his jaw. When Maxie swallowed and shifted under his lips, Archie flicked his tongue out and licked his adam’s apple. “I’m serious, Maxie.”

“I appreciate the sentiment. I don’t think it’ll be necessary. I’ll make it a habit to avoid those assholes in the future.” He didn’t think about the date looming in the future as well. He focused instead on Archie leaning up to kiss him, on the gentle press of his lips, the weight of Archie’s arm on his chest, the water that always seemed to drip off him and onto Maxie.

“It’s fun hearing you swear,” Archie muttered against Maxie’s lips. “You’ve still got this tone, like you’re so smart and frilly—”

“Frilly?”

“—but the swears just fit so perfectly on your tongue. But it’s still a shock to hear it.”

“I’m not sure if you want me to swear more often or less.”

“Do whatever you want,” Archie muttered, pressing their lips together again. “I’ll be happy either way. Just keep using that mouth to make words.”

“It’s rather hard to do that when you insist on kissing me.”

“Fine. Just use your mouth. Kiss me,” Archie demonstrated with a kiss, slow, punctuated with a gentle suck on Maxie’s bottom lip before he pulled away and continued, “talk to me, moan for me. I don’t care.”

“I don’t think I can do the moaning.”

“Why not?”

“You’ve done absolutely nothing that I could moan to. Regrettably.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“Oh, of course not. It’s simply an observation.”

Archie pushed his palms into the water and pushed up, hovering over Maxie. “Uh-huh?”

“Of course. You’ve made yourself happy with chaste kisses, lips moving slowly. It’s very nice, but even the touch of your tongue has been rather gentle, and unremarkable I have to say. You’ve entertained the notion of kissing my neck, but entertain is all you’ve done.”

Archie pulled his tail out of the water and it slapped down in the space between Maxie’s legs. He slowly knelt down and Maxie watched as Archie’s face got closer and closer and Archie’s gaze, locked with his, was so swallowing he felt like he was drowning in the ocean, but he was still breathing. Those eyes closed and Maxie lifted his head up to meet Archie. Archie didn’t waste any time sucking on Maxie’s lips, running his tongue over the scab still on Maxie’s lip. Archie’s pulled away and shifted, moving down to brace himself up on his arms and then knelt down for another kiss, the warmth from his chest pressing against Maxie and heating him up. His breath hitched against Archie’s lips and he raised his arms up to hold his sides.

It was odd, such a sold bulk planted between Maxie’s legs, the heat warming him. He didn’t know whether he should press his legs together and pull Archie closer or spread them and let Archie sit between them further. He kept them the same distance apart and wrapped his arms around Archie, letting his warmth press against him. The water that dampened his chest felt like it was boiling and Maxie pulled away to breathe. Archie’s face pressed into his exposed neck, the coarse hairs of his beard ticking his skin more than the ghost-light touch of his lips. Maxie pressed his heels into the rock when the press of his lips became firmer and he sucked a bruise onto his neck. Maxie’s breathing quickened. Archie scrapped his teeth against his pulse and he stuttered, hissing and breathing out in bursts. “Yer quiet.”

“I guess I am.” Maxie swallowed. “Maybe you just need to try harder to get some noise out of me.”

Archie settled down against Maxie’s chest. “Talking seems to get you to make a lot of noise. I’m fine with that.”

Maxie raised an eyebrow. “Have you just jumped from making out to conversations?”

“Yeah, I did. But you know, I could focus on kissing too.” Archie leaned back on his arm and ran his thumb over Maxie’s lips. “Didn’t notice that before. The cut.”

Maxie talked around the pressure against his lips. “Yes, that would be a souvenir from our fist kiss.”

“I mean, I know I did it, but I didn’t really notice, you know?”

“No.”

“Like, you’ve got red blood.”

“Do you not?”

“I do. I just didn’t expect it.”

“Well you are half human. We have to have similar anatomy.”

“I guess.” Archie slapped his tail against the water and Maxie’s legs twitched.

“Do you know what color your veins are?”

Archie turned his hand over and Maxie followed the motion. Under Archie’s dark skin, he could see faint rises where the veins protruded in his wrist, on the back of his hand. But no color faded through the skin. Maxie held up his wrist for Archie to see the roads of blue down his arm. Archie moved off of Maxie and rested against his side, his tail a heavy weight on his leg, still half in the space between his legs. His fingers traced the veins down his arm, pressing down where they gathered in his elbow. Maxie felt dizzy in the feather-light skimming down his arm, so delicate it almost tickled, his fingers spasming closed and then relaxing only to close again. The press of his fingers felt warm and the heat spread to his head and made him dizzy. Maxie swallowed. “Now you’re the quiet one.”

Archie smiled a bit and cupped the back of his arm, sliding his hand back up to Maxie’s wrist. “Sorry. It’s just cool to see.”

“They’re just veins. You have them too, I’m just so pale, it’s a sight right to the bone.”

Archie shook his head. “They’re like…tracks of sand on the bottom of the ocean.”

Archie pressed his lips to Maxie’s pulse, his beard tickling his arm and despite how lovely the sight looked and felt, Maxie felt that anxious rock sink into him and dragged him down.

**Author's Note:**

> Constructive criticism and spelling/grammar corrections welcome! This'll be updated weekly.


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